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Was/is anyone here an HONEST biller in biglaw?

i turned off my timer if I was just chatting with coworkers,...
Motley heaven
  05/22/25
Look at this fucking nerd using a timer
spectacular sienna mediation
  05/23/25
230 with no fluff is fucking insane. I routinely billed 200 ...
Wine stirring sound barrier
  05/23/25
lol @ any "man" even using a timer, let alone turn...
Cordovan church becky
  05/22/25
...
Bisexual Multi-colored Senate
  05/22/25
...
purple kitchen
  05/22/25
When I was above 200 my bills were most honest.
exhilarant community account
  05/22/25
...
Cracking Orchestra Pit
  05/22/25
I bill only for time where I'm 100% engaged, doing my best a...
passionate house
  05/22/25
Partner: Please see me
exhilarant community account
  05/22/25
...
Cracking Orchestra Pit
  05/22/25
I am the partner. That's what's so insane about this.
passionate house
  05/22/25
...
Bisexual Multi-colored Senate
  05/22/25
...
fragrant pervert personal credit line
  05/23/25
the internal moral stress of retaining honesty is a large re...
electric whorehouse boltzmann
  05/22/25
why bother retaining honesty? the whole thing is fraud
Wine stirring sound barrier
  05/23/25
On average probably padded 15 %. Consider it your “tip...
histrionic lime idea he suggested
  05/22/25
18% is now normal and many biglaw firms are suggesting 20% o...
Bisexual Multi-colored Senate
  05/22/25
...
histrionic lime idea he suggested
  05/22/25
...
hideous nudist patrolman
  05/22/25
...
exhilarant community account
  05/23/25
My favorite story is still that Sidley associate who wrote a...
exhilarant community account
  05/22/25
...
Cordovan church becky
  05/22/25
...
Dead bateful theater
  05/22/25
Any time I've been honest I've been passed up or fired Wh...
Dead bateful theater
  05/22/25
...
Jet Mother
  05/22/25
...
Bisexual Multi-colored Senate
  05/22/25
what happens when the truth comes out later?
Motley heaven
  05/22/25
Never does imo It's all a big ponzi scheme and everyone e...
Dead bateful theater
  05/22/25
people who make it see the truth immediately, xo autistd and...
Floppy Anal Plaza Legend
  05/23/25
I’m more of a look at my sent inbox and estimate type ...
Razzmatazz private investor haunted graveyard
  05/22/25
...
fragrant pervert personal credit line
  05/23/25
While I would bill more than my actual time frequently, I ne...
Lascivious high-end stag film
  05/22/25
(superstar biglawyer)
rebellious chestnut school
  05/22/25
...
Floppy Anal Plaza Legend
  05/23/25
self preservation through mental gymnastics we're all good ...
bipolar overrated set mexican
  05/23/25
...
Motley heaven
  05/22/25
If someone makes $15 an hour at McDonalds, you don't get to ...
Clear Stead Headpube
  05/22/25
>Similarly, when you get an email on your blackberry at 1...
Cordovan church becky
  05/22/25
For a single email id do like a 0.3 or 0.4 but if you're ans...
Clear Stead Headpube
  05/22/25
wait why cant they mop the floor when orders get slow
Mind-boggling persian den
  05/22/25
When its super slow, they should. When its just a short ...
Clear Stead Headpube
  05/22/25
im all for workers rights but i dont think mickey d's employ...
Mind-boggling persian den
  05/22/25
...
exhilarant community account
  05/23/25
this guy gets it
Wine stirring sound barrier
  05/23/25
I bill mainly based upon the value of my work product to the...
Painfully honest copper mad-dog skullcap
  05/22/25
(Wachtel)
exhilarant community account
  05/23/25
Why would anyone be honest when you can inflate your hours b...
marvelous selfie knife
  05/23/25
The thing most non-Jewish juniors don’t understand is ...
Cordovan church becky
  05/23/25
Real talk: the people who get "caught" are overbil...
talented mildly autistic center kitty cat
  05/23/25
I once had to bill more than 24 hours in a day, because our ...
vibrant prole alpha
  05/23/25
I massively underbill by a few hundred hours a year, often t...
glassy vigorous fortuitous meteor
  05/23/25
lol
spectacular sienna mediation
  05/23/25
At my V5 prestigious elite M&A MFH shop at which I was c...
spectacular sienna mediation
  05/23/25
...
vibrant prole alpha
  05/23/25
The first thing my biglaw partner told me on day 1 is that y...
saffron ungodly locus pozpig
  05/23/25
I'm not even joking when I say that it's rare and heartwarmi...
talented mildly autistic center kitty cat
  05/23/25
Wasn't this the premise for Jim Carrey's Liar Liar?
hideous nudist patrolman
  05/23/25


Poast new message in this thread



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:45 PM
Author: Motley heaven

i turned off my timer if I was just chatting with coworkers, browsing the internet for personal stuff, using the restroom.

also, if I accidentally left my timer running when I wasn't working, I subtracted the excess time based on my rough estimate.

under this system, the most i ever billed in a month was 230, and that was absolutely hellish.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953664)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 8:41 AM
Author: spectacular sienna mediation

Look at this fucking nerd using a timer

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955796)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:17 AM
Author: Wine stirring sound barrier

230 with no fluff is fucking insane. I routinely billed 200 a month but actually workd like a hundred or so

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48956128)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:48 PM
Author: Cordovan church becky

lol @ any "man" even using a timer, let alone turning it off. are u a fempoaster?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953677)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:10 PM
Author: Bisexual Multi-colored Senate



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953775)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:49 PM
Author: purple kitchen



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953683)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:51 PM
Author: exhilarant community account

When I was above 200 my bills were most honest.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953693)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:52 PM
Author: Cracking Orchestra Pit



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953696)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:53 PM
Author: passionate house

I bill only for time where I'm 100% engaged, doing my best and adding value

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953697)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:57 PM
Author: exhilarant community account

Partner: Please see me

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953711)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:58 PM
Author: Cracking Orchestra Pit



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953719)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:01 PM
Author: passionate house

I am the partner. That's what's so insane about this.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953730)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:10 PM
Author: Bisexual Multi-colored Senate



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953776)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:32 AM
Author: fragrant pervert personal credit line



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48956167)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:55 PM
Author: electric whorehouse boltzmann

the internal moral stress of retaining honesty is a large reason why I left biglaw

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953704)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:18 AM
Author: Wine stirring sound barrier

why bother retaining honesty? the whole thing is fraud

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48956129)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:00 PM
Author: histrionic lime idea he suggested

On average probably padded 15 %. Consider it your “tip” for your services.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953725)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:11 PM
Author: Bisexual Multi-colored Senate

18% is now normal and many biglaw firms are suggesting 20% or even 22%

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953779)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:18 PM
Author: histrionic lime idea he suggested



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953815)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:19 PM
Author: hideous nudist patrolman



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953820)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 6:26 AM
Author: exhilarant community account



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955678)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:12 PM
Author: exhilarant community account

My favorite story is still that Sidley associate who wrote an essay admitting to billing fraud and Sidley was like, “we checked and everything looked good to us. Here’s a ten percent rebate.”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953784)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:13 PM
Author: Cordovan church becky



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953787)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:23 PM
Author: Dead bateful theater



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953844)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:17 PM
Author: Dead bateful theater

Any time I've been honest I've been passed up or fired

When applying I'd give honest solid resumes all passed up

Then I lie even a little bit and they all bite

I tell clients realistic timetables that are still aggressive but reasonable passed or fired eventually

Now I straight up lie

Employment is a satanic system built around forcing u to lie cheat and steal in some sick humiliation ritual

Few ever see the truth about this

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953813)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:19 PM
Author: Jet Mother



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953819)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:21 PM
Author: Bisexual Multi-colored Senate



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48953828)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 2:51 PM
Author: Motley heaven

what happens when the truth comes out later?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48954139)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 2:54 PM
Author: Dead bateful theater

Never does imo

It's all a big ponzi scheme and everyone else is in on it trying not to be caught

Seems like u only get "caught" if u step out of line politically (call out jews etc) or are bottom of the barrel and are essentially a Aztec pyramid blood sacrifice

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48954150)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 9:29 AM
Author: Floppy Anal Plaza Legend

people who make it see the truth immediately, xo autistd and women struggle

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955867)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 4:50 PM
Author: Razzmatazz private investor haunted graveyard

I’m more of a look at my sent inbox and estimate type of bro

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48954460)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:33 AM
Author: fragrant pervert personal credit line



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48956169)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 4:55 PM
Author: Lascivious high-end stag film

While I would bill more than my actual time frequently, I never billed for more than the "value" of my work product. So yes I was honest.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48954471)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 5:22 PM
Author: rebellious chestnut school

(superstar biglawyer)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48954578)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 9:29 AM
Author: Floppy Anal Plaza Legend



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955868)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:28 AM
Author: bipolar overrated set mexican

self preservation through mental gymnastics

we're all good people, right? especially me.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48956161)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 5:14 PM
Author: Motley heaven



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48954529)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 9:45 PM
Author: Clear Stead Headpube

If someone makes $15 an hour at McDonalds, you don't get to dock their pay because when the orders got slow, they chatted with their cowrker rather than mopped the floor.

The same thing applies to law. You take the time you were at work, working, and you divide proportionally.

It's not natural for a person to read 500 pages of bonds without a break - in fact most research says you need to take periodic breaks for your mind to regenerate.

YOu shouldn't "pause your timer" after draftig some document because you're taking a lap to the water cooler or checking Facebook for a bit because you can't rewrite Section 13.6 e.

Similarly, when you get an email on your blackberry at 11 pm, and it takes you 3 minutes to respond - that's not billed as a 0.05 hour. You had to be on call to check for that email, then you lost the momentum from your evening, you're going to think about that email for 10 minutes after, and the deal will be in your head for whatever else you were planning on doing that night.

My point being that whenever your brain is required to be in "work mode" - someone should be paying for that.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955165)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 10:27 PM
Author: Cordovan church becky

>Similarly, when you get an email on your blackberry at 11 pm, and it takes you 3 minutes to respond - that's not billed as a 0.05 hour. You had to be on call to check for that email, then you lost the momentum from your evening, you're going to think about that email for 10 minutes after, and the deal will be in your head for whatever else you were planning on doing that night.

so what do you bill for that? 1.25 to me makes sense

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955247)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 10:31 PM
Author: Clear Stead Headpube

For a single email id do like a 0.3 or 0.4 but if you're answering multiple hours then i feel like the entire time is fair game

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955262)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 10:35 PM
Author: Mind-boggling persian den

wait why cant they mop the floor when orders get slow

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955265)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 10:40 PM
Author: Clear Stead Headpube

When its super slow, they should.

When its just a short break, people would quit if they were expected to be fully working 100% of the time.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955278)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 10:42 PM
Author: Mind-boggling persian den

im all for workers rights but i dont think mickey d's employees can actually quit. thats mickey d's whole business model.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955287)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 6:28 AM
Author: exhilarant community account



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955680)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:21 AM
Author: Wine stirring sound barrier

this guy gets it

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48956141)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 10:51 PM
Author: Painfully honest copper mad-dog skullcap

I bill mainly based upon the value of my work product to the client. If I work hard on something but don't end up with a product that helps the client very much then I will actually underbill for my hours spent. Usually the product is good, though, and then I'm pretty fucking loose in my billing. Me and everyone else I know.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955307)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 6:28 AM
Author: exhilarant community account

(Wachtel)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955681)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 7:31 AM
Author: marvelous selfie knife

Why would anyone be honest when you can inflate your hours by 50% without drawing suspicion? 1500 gets you fired, 2250 gets you a bonus. The only people who ever get caught do colossally stupid shit like bill more than 24 hours in a day, bill for work that was never done, etc.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955722)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 8:43 AM
Author: Cordovan church becky

The thing most non-Jewish juniors don’t understand is that the firm WANTS you to inflate your bill by 50%. Incentives are entirely aligned.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955798)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 9:06 AM
Author: talented mildly autistic center kitty cat

Real talk: the people who get "caught" are overbilling by 200-500%, not flame. It's like the young woman who spends too long with one foot out the door, or the dude with developing mental illness who's unable to do more than an hour or two of work a couple times a week. And they're ID'd for qualitative reasons, not the billing itself, which is often a straight-up pretext to expedite getting rid of the person.



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955831)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:24 AM
Author: vibrant prole alpha

I once had to bill more than 24 hours in a day, because our faggy billing system automatically populated 8 hours on holidays. I think this was for the benefit of the hourly employees, but it carried over for salaried lawyers too. Anyway, I ended up working an 18 hour day on Thanksgiving, which the system wouldn't accept. Getting that sorted with the billing system retard was a nightmare.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48956150)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 8:41 AM
Author: glassy vigorous fortuitous meteor

I massively underbill by a few hundred hours a year, often to the benefit of nobody (lots of contingency matters).

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955792)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 8:41 AM
Author: spectacular sienna mediation

lol

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955794)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 8:44 AM
Author: spectacular sienna mediation

At my V5 prestigious elite M&A MFH shop at which I was considered a top associate we had a universal understanding on asshole taxes for work that came in Friday afternoon with a “don’t kill your self on this, Monday AM is fine for a markup”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955799)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:31 AM
Author: vibrant prole alpha



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48956165)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 9:08 AM
Author: saffron ungodly locus pozpig

The first thing my biglaw partner told me on day 1 is that you never log anything less than a 0.4 even if you spend 30 seconds on it because whatever you’re doing is taking you away from something else you could be doing and billing for

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955837)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 9:15 AM
Author: talented mildly autistic center kitty cat

I'm not even joking when I say that it's rare and heartwarming to hear about a partner looking out for a young person like that.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48955848)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:35 AM
Author: hideous nudist patrolman

Wasn't this the premise for Jim Carrey's Liar Liar?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2...id.#48956178)